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Trying to watch it live, but the connection is not reliable at all. I could only see some glimpse.

I’M watching live too

so good so far .

intro to Yoo Baek - Winning a prize etc at some award. Not sure how , he got into some trouble & had to go to the police station. Later after that his manager takes him home . You can see he is generally very driven ( works hard ) though a bit of a prick .( lots of fan service of him & his abs ) But actually he’s unhappy & is depressed . He’s on anti - depressants . He was unhappy on the night he met an accident- he punched a pillar a few times , think he was also under the influence when he drove into a road block . All this told in slight flashback . Things come to a halt for him when he was filming & reporters kept disturbing the him, he finally gave an interview and answered rudely to the reporters which pissed everyone off .

scene of our gal diving for abalones

Anyhow his manager who was rather unhappy with him sends him off for “vacation “ ...lol ...he’s seasick on a small boat now as I type

Haha, he arrive in the island . He hears an announcement about some TOP Star arriving . lol he thought it was him . No one to greet him etc. He starts to walk with his multiple luggage & surf board

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Our forum had an update while I was live capping last night....so I got booted out. . I have to say first episode was very good. It was funny but also has a lot of heart. JSM was fantastic in mastering the Satoori accent and just going all out with her country bumpkin image. They picked the right girl for this drama. Kim Ji Suk is hot but he's also a very good actor. But more than that, he managed to make me invested in his character even though he is supposedly a self -absorbed A list actor through a number of subtle emotional scenes of him reflecting on his own. In spite of his success, he is unhappy and I think the pressure to perform and do well all the time is getting the better of him. So he was subconsciously finding himself needing rest and a place of escape. A couple of scenes in particular...this when he was at home after coming back from the police station and then here when he was in awe of the scenery before him and realises it isn't so bad after all...

But let me back track and give you all some fan service...here he was being summoned to the police station after the award night for getting into trouble the night before. That's his manager..the guy has had enough of him...but also I think manager can't wait to get rid of him and put his rival in the spotlight. But yoo baek is very driven

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....but is unhappy ..kept taking pills ( think is anti-depressants / sleeping pills ) ..even when he was spending his first night in the village..there was this scene of him just before his run in with the cops - him punching the wall and crying in his car , you can tell he's tired of it all.

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Anyhow after the debacle at the police station and the interview he gave the reporters who were camping at his filming site, scandal ensued and his manager sends him for a holiday. But the manager did not tell him he will be going to some extremely remote island.

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When he arrive, his arrival was announced over the PA system. . This seems to be the way the whole village communicates ..but no one came to greet him, so he dragged his stuff and surf board with him. Meets an ahjussi whom I'll call speedy gonzales but he was not the homestay owner. Kang soon is hosting him...

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SO she came took his stuff and hilarity follows with him discovering that there's no internet, TV etc. His phone has no network. He didn't even have a proper room - she gave him a room used to store stuff and the bathroom was typical Asian village style ...lol! He was not pleased of course and even though he got hold of his manager using the land line , he was given no choice but to stay. The village folk are so cute...the ahjummas were giggly to have a handsome top star in their midst .

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He got chased by goats here ...lmao...as a result fell and twisted his leg ...the goats are the star of this island

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Speedy gonzales carried him to the clinic...there was this doctor ( Yoo Baek thinks she's abit of a quack ) , she told him his injury is very serious... then she laughed and said she was joking , She fixed his sprain using traditional method. The village folk are going to have a ball with him...they like teasing him...but everything here is really stuck in the 80s

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So after the clinic, kang soon takes him back to her house where she stays with grandma..... many fun moments here on...grandma had some eye candy ...

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It was not easy of course for him to adjust to village life...he could not sleep, did not wish to eat ....got on Kang Soon's nerves because he seems so spoilt asking for " toast eggs and espresso" lol...she used her spit to get rid of the dead mozzie she smacked on his tee...

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But this island is so pretty...the seafood is so yums! I was so hungry seeing all the great food they made with super fresh produce

JSM killing it as a country gal...love her...

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Meanwhile in Seoul , Yoo Baek's rival Nam Jo ( played by HJM ) steals his role in the film he was making

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Back to the island...after a first sleepless night, he decided to go surfing...kkkkk...no guessing what she used his surf board for. He was annoyed and just threw the fish on the floor...she saw her fish...got mad...gave chase and the most epic seen of her head butting him.....she's so strong.

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The surf board cracked when he tried to use it to protect himself...lol...but there was no stopping our gal..

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So that wraps up the episode. I really enjoyed the 70 minutes. In the preview we see him developing some feelings already or at least seeing her in a new light , he's also softening to the idea of island living and our cute pirate makes his debut.

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Overall a very nice premier. Great acting and chemistry by our leads. wish this was twice a week now.

Update : trended number one on naver last night

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Very good response from the audience

ratings at 2.8% ( peak 3.3%) ..number one among all cable dramas airing at the same time

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This is a new airing time slot for TvN . The previous drama was Big Forest which premiered at 2.1% and fell after that . Let’s hope this drama keeps up the good work

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Seems like the response in naver is great. Top Star Yoo Baek and Jeon so min was in the real time search even a while ago. So glad for them, hope they could keep it up. The teasers gave away a lot of the plot and I was little concerned that it won't be much fun while watching. I liked it a lot and the chemistry between the cast was also great.

Jun So Min And Kim Ji Suk’s New Drama “Top Star U-Back” Premieres At Top Of Time Slot

According to Nielsen Korea, the November 16 premiere of the new drama scored average viewership ratings of 2.8 percent nationwide, peaking at 3.3 percent. The episode took first place in its time slot across all channels, including public broadcast networks.

“Top Star U-Back” is a romantic comedy starring Kim Ji Suk as the titular U-Back, an A-list star who is forced to stay on a remote island without so much as a WiFi connection. He eventually strikes up a romance with Oh Kang Soon (played by Jun So Min), an unsophisticated islander with whom he has little in common.

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I watched the episode without subtitles and it seems funny to me, but I cannot make out what Somin says, because of her accent. Lol. I really need subtitles, because I have no idea what they are saying with the island accent.

It seems good for the first episodes. Still sucks that it's only one episode per week.

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JSM is such a great actress, I’ve loved her since 1% of Anything.....she’s such a natural, and she is killing it in this one with that accent!!! The pairing with KJS is good, too.....he doesn’t often play a leading role, he’s doing really well in this one. Not liking his character right now, hope his character will be a changed man by the end of his exile! Lol

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BTW, I noticed some familiar faces here. @triplem@gladys57 were you there on Ha Seokjin- Jeon Somin soompi thread for 1% of something? I am sorry if I mistook you for somebody else.

@akieraOf course, I'm that same person who posted a lot on that thread! A record posting in fact. Became JSM's instant ardent fan as I'm already HSJ's fan. Even sent them gifts through Godinmedia when I was in Seoul. Also like KJS too from his Problematic Men although I dont watch RM for JSM. Quite impressed with LSY in a weekend drama a nd Law of The Jungle.

Welcome to this thread!

Watched ep 1 with Chinese subs. Had a blast laughing away. JSM & KJS are perfectly casted for this drama. Love the familiar faces among the country folks cast. This drama more than makes up for the disappointment in The 3rd Charm and cures my TBM withdrawal syndrome.

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I think its going to be really fun show...cast is doing really well!!! N i love the supporting cast, they're very talented have seen them in drama n movies!! Goofy doctor is my fav...she was kim sam soon sister in that drama...one of my favorite drama!!

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only once a week. This is TVN’s new Friday 11pm KST﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿slot﻿ . Hopefully got subs . Don’t see viki picking it up yet

I wonder is this a new format of airing in tvN. I kinda expected that they'll air back-to-back episodes like what the Friday or once a week drama show. But it is not. I watched a few minutes scenes where the top star speed up in his fancy red car while the cops are chasing him behind. Just a little part of it gives me a feeling like "ah, it's going to be fun".

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According to Nielsen Korea, the November 16 premiere of the new drama scored average viewership ratings of 2.8 percent nationwide, peaking at 3.3 percent. The episode took first place in its time slot across all channels, including public broadcast networks.

@larus, thank you for the article. I am thrilled with this placement.
Looks like (hopefully) Viki is still testing the waters to see how many people are interested in this drama... Lets all comment on the article. And also submit more license request forms.https://vikiinc.wufoo.com/forms/title-request-form/It is not too late for them to license it.